China Reports Success in Combating Southeast Asian Scam Syndicates
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China Reports Success in Combating Southeast Asian Scam Syndicates
- China's Vice Minister of Public Security, Yang Weilin, stated on September 23, 2026, that joint law enforcement operations have significantly curbed the region's cybercrime crisis.
- The announcement was made at the International Conference on Combatting Online Scams (ICCOS-2026) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, which brought together delegates from over 20 countries.
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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – China announced significant progress in tackling multibillion-dollar cybercrime syndicates operating across Southeast Asia, according to Yang Weilin, China’s Vice Minister of Public Security. Speaking at the International Conference on Combatting Online Scams (ICCOS-2026) in Phnom Penh on September 23, 2026, Yang stated that joint law enforcement operations have successfully explored a “Chinese approach” to solving the problem.
The two-day conference, themed “Acting Together Towards Breaking the Chain and Eradication of Online Scams,” was presided over by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and included delegates from over 20 countries, along with representatives from Interpol and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Cambodia, which hosted the event, has been working to combat online scams and restore its international reputation, having deported 21,102 foreign nationals of 38 nationalities, mostly from China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and Bangladesh, as of June 30, 2026.
China has expanded its cooperation with Southeast Asian nations, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, to crack down on fraud-related groups. These efforts have included joint operations, intelligence sharing, and targeted raids since 2023, with a new phase launched in 2025 through the Lancang-Mekong Integrated Law Enforcement and Security Cooperation Center (LMLECC). For example, joint law enforcement efforts between China and Myanmar have led to the arrest of over 57,000 Chinese citizens suspected of cyberfraud.
Despite these reported successes, the issue of cyberfraud in Southeast Asia remains complex and has become a point of contention between the US and China, with both countries seeking to influence regional anti-cybercrime operations. The US estimates that Americans lost at least $10 billion to Southeast Asia-based scams in 2024, with losses projected to have grown in 2025. The FBI launched an interagency Scam Center Strike Force in November 2025 to combat these operations.